Mark Morgan Ford is a lifelong practitioner of writing, teaching, entrepreneurship, martial arts and philanthropy.
He has been writing and publishing since 1962 when, at age 12, he sold an underground booklet titled Excuses for the Amateur to his fifth-grade peers. Since then, he has written more than two dozen books on business, entrepreneurship and wealth building (several of which were New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers), as well as half a dozen books on rhetoric and three books of poetry. He has also written and produced four feature-length movies.
From 2000 to 2010, he posted more than 3,000 essays on his Early to Rise blog, which, at one time, had a circulation of nearly a million readers. From 2010 to 2015, he retired from all but one of his business concerns and created an educational curriculum on wealth building. He donated the curriculum – which consisted of thousands of pages of advice and instruction – to the Wealth Science Institute, a non-profit organization whose goal is to encourage industry, entrepreneurship and prudent financial management for the “not yet wealthy.”
As an entrepreneur, he has been involved in dozens of multimillion-dollar businesses, including one whose revenues exceeded $100 million and another that broke the billion-dollar mark. His current business interests include the Agora companies (a large international publishing group), Ford Fine Art (a broker of Latin American and contemporary fine art in Miami, Nicaragua and Delray Beach), AWAI (a company that teaches writing and graphic arts), Lion’s Kill (a movie production business) and Palimi (a business consulting company).
As a real estate investor, he has been involved in more than a hundred projects and developments, from single-family homes to apartment buildings, office buildings and resort communities. Travel & Leisure magazine recently voted the hotel facility in one of these resort communities – Rancho Santana on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua – “one of the 100 best in the world.”
A student of martial arts since 1998, Ford has won three Naga championships. He received his black belt from Marcel Ferreira in 2015.
His charitable activities include FunLimon, a community development facility across the street from Rancho Santana that provides a range of services, including an athletic program, a microlending program, a trade school and a literacy school.
He has attempted to retire four times in his career, never successfully. His current goal is to give away 90% of his wealth in the next decade.
Articles by Mark
Make 3 People Smile Today February 5, 2020- Charisma is an important skill for achieving success and a rich life. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but luckily there’s a simple way to be charming.
So You’re Old… That Doesn’t Mean You’re Done January 22, 2020- Hitting 60 can be a tough milestone, especially if you’re not happy with your finances. Mark Ford explains what to do to get healthy and create wealth. 
How to Be an Information User, Not an Information Junkie January 15, 2020- Information junkies get a rush from buying into the newest books and training courses. But how they actually use the information is the key to a rich life.
The “Early to Rise” Virtue January 8, 2020- Getting up (and getting to work) earlier not only makes you look more industrious than your colleagues but can actually make you more productive.
How to Master Your Emotions and Make Good Investment Decisions December 11, 2019- Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Is either tendency hindering your ability to achieve career success and attain a rich life? If so, here’s what to do.
Making Friends in High Places: A 5-Step Program to Boost Your Career December 4, 2019- A successful career is a key aspect of achieving a rich life, and this method…
The Little Things That Make Life Meaningful November 27, 2019- To appreciate the biggest things in life, like our health and wealth, it is sometimes important to first focus on the little things that make us happy.
How Successful People Use Their Spare Time November 20, 2019- An hour of time may not seem like much in the short term, but how you spend your spare time over the years really adds up on the journey to a rich life. 
Do More With Less: Ending Boring Meetings November 6, 2019- Meetings are a necessary evil, but they have to be productive and efficient. Here’s a definitive guide on setting a purpose and conducting a successful meeting.
Making Meetings Great Again: Bringing a Business Mindset to Political Meetings October 16, 2019- One way to wealth that we often discuss is starting your own business, but how you run that business is also key. Are your meetings productive or wasteful?